Start your engines boys! The Daytona 500 is almost here, but we have plenty of NASCAR betting opportunities prior to the big event. Lets go over the odds for this year's Gatorade Duels and share our picks.
The Gatorade Duels will undoubtedly be one of the main
attractions of Speed Week at Daytona International Speedway leading up to the running
of the 54th Daytona 500 this Sunday afternoon. This year’s races, which
determine the actual running order of the 500, are set for Thursday starting at
10 a.m. (PT) with the Speed Network covering all the action.
The Daytona 500 is the only NASCAR event that uses this
style of qualifying as opposed to the normal timed-lap process of establishing
a race’s running order. The pole position and outside pole have already been
determined for Sunday’s race through a previous qualifying run, with Carl
Edwards securing the top starting spot and Greg Biffle earning the outside
position in the first row. The Gatorade Duels split the rest of the field in
half for two separate fast-paced 150-lap sprints to the finish line.
The finishing order of the first race fills out all the
inside positions of each row and the results of the second race determine the outside
position in each row. Once completed, the running order for all 43 drivers in
the Daytona 500 will be set.
Gatorade Duel- No.1
The field for the first duel is loaded with high-profile drivers
such as last year’s Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart and fan favorites Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and first-time Daytona 500 driver Danica Patrick.
Kevin Harvick is the NASCAR odds favorite to win the first race at 5/1.
Last season he finished third in the first duel and started the 500 in seventh
position. He went on to finish a disappointing 42nd after a failed
engine knocked him out of the race after completing just 22 laps.
Earnhardt Jr., who has always raced well at Daytona, is a
close second-favorite to win on Thursday, listed at 11/2 at the sportsbooks. He actually won the pole for
last year’s 500, but had to start in the back of the field after wrecking the
qualifying car in practice. He finished 13th in the duel and 24th
in the 500 in a valiant effort with his back-up car. Many in Junior’s camp
believe 2011 will be a breakout year for the No.88 car and a win Thursday would
be a step in the right direction.
Stewart is the third-favorite to win the first duel, with sports betting odds listing him at 6/1.
The last time a Sprint Champion went on to win the Daytona 500 was in 2000 when
Dale Jarrett accomplished this feat. Last year Stewart finished 12th
in the first duel and was relegated to starting the 500 in the 25th
position. He completed all 208 laps but could only manage a 13th-place
finish.
The fourth- favorite for Thursday’s first duel is
pole-sitter Carl Edwards at 7/1. His main objective will be to get through this
race without a scratch as there is no real incentive to win. Last season he
finished 10th in the second duel and went on to finish second behind
rookie driver Trevor Bayne in the 500, who stunned the racing world with his
win.
Prediction: Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
Gatorade Duel- No.2
The second race has NASCAR bad-boy Kyle Busch as a 4/1
favorite to keep his winning streak at this year’s Speed Week alive after taking
first-place in last Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout. Last year, Kyle
finished fourth in the second duel to land the 10th starting
position. He went on to post the first of 18 top-10 finishes in 2011 with an
eighth-place finish in the 500.
The next favorite to win the second duel is longtime veteran
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, who is coming off one of his best seasons in recent
memory in 2011 with three trips to victory lane. He started last year’s 500 in
the No.2 spot but ended-up 28th in the actual race. Gordon is an
11/2 favorite to win Thursday’s second duel.
Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who will be
looking to take his first step toward regaining his title, is the
third-favorite to win the second duel at 13/2. Last season started on a bad
note with an 11th-place finish in the first duel and a 27th-place
finish in the 500. Look for Johnson to be racing hard in everything he runs
this week in an effort to erase last season’s slow start.
Prediction: Jimmie
Johnson